How to Develop On Demand Babysitter App That Will Rise Above Competition [Guaranteed]

Though most working parents try to give as much time to their baby as humanly possible. But there are times when parents need to step out of the house for certain events where they cannot carry their baby.

At those times, they all look for a trustable babysitter to look after their baby for the time they’re out.

Back in the old days, finding a babysitter was a real challenge for many parents.

Today, however, there are on demand babysitter apps using which parents can easily find and hire trustable babysitters at affordable rates.

How Does an On Demand Babysitter App Work?

Just like any other on demand app, there are two parties involved in on demand babysitting app. – Parents & Babysitters.

Here’s how an On Demand babysitter app works for Parents:

Parents download their app and register themselves.

Once the registration is done, they can access various babysitters listed in the app.

Parents can book a babysitter based on their availability status, reviews & ratings, and their hourly charges.

After the job is done, parents can pay within the app and write a review for their service in the app.

Here’s how an On Demand babysitter app works for Sitters:

Babysitters download their app and register themselves. Before the account approval, they go through a verification process.

Once their documents are validated, their account is activated and they’re redirected to the dashboard.

In the dashboard, they can show themselves as ‘Available’ or ‘Not Available’.

Apart from their status, they can also receive alerts for new jobs.

After completing a job, they can check their earnings and keep track of their past jobs.

Simple as that.

The on demand babysitter apps are becoming a rage right now across the world. But the development part is not so simple.

There are certain things you need to think about first. For example…

Babysitters or Parents – Whom to Attract First?

This is a classic chicken & egg problem. If you don’t have active babysitters, parents won’t come to your platform. Conversely, if you don’t have babysitters on demand, parents won’t download your app.

To decide whom to attract first, think about your main target audience.

Each on demand app has a group of users who are difficult to attract. In the case of on demand babysitting app, these users are parents.

So, you need to build your app around parents. Your unique value proposition should be focused on them.

Simply put, you need to come up with a way to incentivize parents to join your app and stay while you get babysitters on board. And for that, you need to earn parents’ trust.

How to Earn Parents’ Trust?

Earning parents’ trust is the biggest problem every on demand babysitting app has faced.

Another survey by UrbanSitter also revealed that 68% of parents believe they would be miserable if they can’t find a trusted babysitter.

To fill this trust gap, you’ll have to go the extra mile. But don’t worry, here are a few ideas that will help you.

1 – Leverage The Power of Recommendations

Recommendations have always been one of the best ways to win consumers’ heart.

In fact, in on demand babysitting app, recommendations can do wonders for your startup. According to Care.com, 88% of parents still ask their neighbors or friends for babysitter recommendations.

For this reason, you must include recommendations feature in your on demand babysitting app. Your competitors are already doing the same thing.

UrbanSitter, for instance, allows parents to create a list of their favorite babysitters and share the list with the community.

In addition to this, UrbanSitter also displays the number of repeat families in the babysitters’ profile to let other parents know how many other families have worked with the same babysitter for more than once.

2 – Background Checks & References

According to Care.com, 47% of parents say they check references and 54% of parents say background check is very important when it comes to hiring a new babysitter.

These data prove that you can’t win parents’ trust if you don’t conduct an initial screening of babysitters who sign up on your platform.

In fact, the majority of babysitting apps already conduct an in-person interview for verification. Care.com & HelloSitter, for example, review all social media accounts and run extensive background checks.

3 – Go The Extra Mile for Guarantee

Some parents can be overanxious, even if you’ve screened & well-checked babysitters. In those cases, you need to give extra guarantee to win their trust.

One way you can deal with anxious parents is by proposing to install nanny-cams. Trusted, SitterCity, and Sitter.com does the exact same thing.

Other platforms like SuperSitters guarantee by fingerprinting each babysitter.

All in all, winning parents’ trust is extremely difficult. But, acting on the above tips will surely give you a competitive advantage.

Now, since we’ve learned different ways you can attract parents on your platform, let’s not forget about the babysitters too.

How to Attract Babysitters?

Attracting babysitters is not as difficult as attracting parents. But, there are certain issues that you need to consider. Here are a few tips that will help you attract more babysitters.

1 – Fair Pay

Fair pay has always been a common issue for contractors. If you don’t give them fair pay, you’ll lose your contractors. In this case, babysitters.

So, make sure that your wage rates are sufficient. For example, you can set a minimum wage rate of $8 per hour to ensure the babysitters are getting fair pay.

2 – Responsibilities

If you have tried babysitting job during college days, then you might be aware of the battle. You might get one job offer out of hundred interviews.

But through on demand babysitter app development, you can bring certain benefits for babysitters.

One common problem that babysitters face is that while they get hired to work as nannies but the job turns out to be of a housekeeper.

For this reason, you should consider adding the option to decide all the responsibilities and working hours beforehand. This lets babysitters determine whether to accept a job or not.

In addition to this option, it is also beneficial to create a special tool where parents can tip babysitters for extra duties such as making meals, reading bedtime stories, bathing, and more.

3 – Safely

Last but not least, safety is a top-most priority among babysitters. In order to help babysitters feel safe, you should consider arranging 24/7 support so that babysitters can contact in emergency situations.

Conclusion

Summing it all up, here’s what you should keep in mind.

First of all, on demand babysitting is a booming and profitable industry. But it is also highly competitive.

So, in order to make your mark and rise above the competition, you need to stand-out. But most importantly, you need to partner with a competent mobile app development company who can bring these functionalities to life.

About Author

Sagar Sharma

Sagar holds the position of Chief Technology Officer at Credencys and is responsible for all the technical operations, as well as leading the company’s revolutionary offerings.

Sagar has two main areas of focus - Technology and Processes. He has worked in leadership positions in various Fortune 50 companies and has been instrumental in driving success through digital transformation. He is also an enthusiastic Agile Coach.

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